RadioShack to Close Up to 1,100 Stores

By CBS News

Published 03/04 2014 09:28AM

Updated 03/04 2014 09:30AM

FORT WORTH, Texas - RadioShack Corp. (RSH) plans to close up to 1,100 of its under-performing stores in the U.S. and reported a wider loss for its fourth quarter as traffic slowed during the critical holiday season.

The planned closings, announced Tuesday, would leave RadioShack with more than 4,000 stores.

The company didn't immediately identify what stores are being closed. (There are at least 2 dozen RadioShack stores in southwest Missouri and northwest Arkansas.) The electronics retailer said that the stores to be closed are being selected based on location, area demographics, lease duration and financial performance.

For the period ended Dec. 31, the electronics retailer lost $191.4 million, or $1.90 per share. That compares with a loss of $63.3 million, or 63 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding items, RadioShack lost $1.29 per share.

Analysts expected a loss of 16 cents per share. Revenue declined to $935.4 million from $1.17 billion. Sales at stores open at least a year fell 19 percent on weaker traffic and the soft performance of its mobility business.

CEO Joseph Magnacca said the latest quarter's performance was hurt by increased promotional activity, particularly in consumer electronics, along with a soft mobility marketplace and operational issues.